“Saina is not someone special player that I have to win against. It’s not like that I must beat her. She is one of the players.”

Winning a tournament at the end of the year boosts your confidence a lot.

It’s always good to win a title.

The year 2017 has been really good for me. Definitely, a lot of positive things to learn from.

There will be many obstacles in the pursuit of your dreams. I had long hours of training, balancing studies and badminton.

Your dreams are what define your individuality. They have the power to give you wings and make you fly high.

I went to school like any other regular student till Class VIII, and my favourite subject was math. From Class IX, things got a little difficult to manage. I was inclined towards studies, but then I also had to give time to badminton.

We need to be always prepared for every match.

Sometimes it does upset you when you lose in the finals, or even in a quarterfinal or semifinal, especially when you think, ‘Maybe I could have played better,’ or even if you gave your 100 percent, and even then, you lose.

Be it ‘Mary Kom,’ ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,’ or ‘Dangal,’ each one was inspiring in its own way. But my favourite is ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.’

I think the coaches have to play a big role in the players’ development.

When you are injured, you need to strengthen yourself very well to make a comeback very confidently.

It is never the case that I will push myself more for the World Championships and play differently in a Super Series or vice-versa.

Ups and downs will be happening; coming to the final and losing by a point or so should not matter.

There is always scrutiny and pressure from the media. I am always told that I have to win.

I should not think that I have to win every match and what others will think; that will create extra pressure. I just have to give best on court.

I would love to act in a film if it is based on my life. But then it all depends on who is making it and how much time it would require for me to shoot.

Compete with your destiny, not theirs.

Every quarterback can throw a ball; every running back can run; every receiver is fast; but that mental toughness that you talk about translates into competitiveness.

If my competitor were drowning I’d stick a hose in his mouth and turn on the water.

No matter how hard you train, Somebody will train harder. No matter how hard you run, Somebody will run harder. No matter how hard you want it, Somebody will want it more, I am Somebody.

If you do it first class and you don’t compromise values, and you don’t compromise quality, and you don’t compromise service, and you don’t compromise cleanliness, then everybody else who is the competitor has got to play catch-up.

A lot of times I find that people who are blessed with the most talent don’t ever develop that attitude, and the ones who aren’t blessed in that way are the most competitive and have the biggest heart.

Speaking of competition in the fast-food industry. This is rat eat rat, dog eat dog. I’ll kill ’em, and I’m going to kill ’em before they kill me.

If you’re poor, you don’t often live near a good school. If it’s a competitive public school program, our kids are not prepared to enter those programs.